Major Canadian Banks TD and RBC Hold Mortgages for Alleged Toronto Mafia Boss

Figliomeni and eight alleged members of his group were charged with numerous crimes for the benefit of a criminal organization, including money laundering. The charges were later stayed and the case did not go to trial.

Figliomeni did not respond to requests for comment sent via his lawyers.

TD declined to answer specific questions about its relationship with Figliomeni.

“On an ongoing basis, we complete account and product reviews, and address any situation where we can no longer support a client’s accounts,” said Allyson Theriault, a spokesperson.

A TD employee with knowledge of the situation said the bank began to demarket Figliomeni — “cancel all products and services” — after he was charged, and that he had been notified that his mortgages would not be renewed. However, TD declined to comment on the terms of Figliomeni’s ongoing mortgages, including when they would expire.

RBC, which is Canada’s largest bank, declined to answer questions about its mortgages with Figliomeni, citing privacy concerns. Spokesperson Cheryl Brean said RBC “continuously evaluates business relationships on a case-by-case basis.”

Figliomeni should have been considered a “high-risk” customer, given his long history as a suspect in criminal cases, according to Gary Clement, a former superintendent of the federal Royal Canadian Mounted Police who specialized in investigating the proceeds of crime.

He said the banks’ continuing business with Figliomeni, while not illegal, raises questions about due diligence procedures.

“They took these mortgages out, which tells me right off the bat [the banks] never did enhanced due diligence,” said Clement, who now works on anti-money laundering controls in the banking sector. 

“That should have been picked up right from day one,” he added. “These guys would have shown up on some alert.”

Canadian and Italian police alleged that Figliomeni led a faction of the ’Ndrangheta, a mafia from Italy’s southern Calabria region that has grown into a global organization involved in drug trafficking and other crimes. The Canadian faction allegedly profited from illegal gambling and loan sharking, but those accusations were never tried in court.

Figliomeni was convicted in his home country in the 1990s for possessing illegal weapons and membership in a crime group. He was also named in news reports prior to his 2019 arrest in Canada. 

In 2006, the Toronto Star reported that Figliomeni was wanted in Italy for weapons and criminal conspiracy charges, as well as mafia membership. Italy’s justice ministry did not respond to a request for comment on whether those charges are still active. 

Figliomeni was also named in Canadian media reports in 2010 in relation to Italian investigations. In 2015, he appeared again in coverage of an Italian case naming him as a suspected “Toronto-area mafia leader.” He was never tried in Canada on these allegations.